JPH02163220A - Automatic feeding device for original - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize the loosening of originals and improve a separating property by making the front end portions of originals an inclined face and guiding same to a separating portion by means of a guide while restraining the sending out of doubly bed originals by means of the guide at the time of sending out originals by a send-out means. CONSTITUTION:Originals G being sent out are brought into contact with the rubber member 28 of a revolving board 27, to revolve same centering around a supporting member 26 to a separating roller R2 side. Thereby, the originals G becomes an inclined shape along the rotary board 27 with the upper layer side being left behind due to the frictional force of the rubber member 28, to be handled so as to facilitate the separation of a first sheet. Then, the originals are separated and fed by means of a feed roller R3 and a separating roller R2. In this case, if double feeding occurs, the revolving end of the revolving board 27 permits the separating roll R2 to be brought into contact with the second and following originals G which are placed in a telescopical form with respect to the roller R2. Hence, the sending out of the second and following originals G can be prevented. By this structure, the automatic loosening of originals can be performed enabling sure separation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder that feeds a document to, for example, an automatic document reader.

(Prior Art) This type of automatic document feeder includes a document setting section in which documents are set in a stacked state, and the document set in the document setting section is sent out by rotation of a delivery roller to form a separating section. By introducing the device between the paper feed roller and the separation roller, the document is separated and fed one by one.

By the way, when setting the above-mentioned original in the original setting section, the original is fanned and its leading end is tilted so that it can be easily separated, and then the original is set in the original setting section.

(Problem 1i to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the past, if a document is set without being separated, the separating section cannot completely separate the document, resulting in a failure to take in the document.

Therefore, this invention allows the document to be automatically fanned even if the worker sets it without fanning it.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder that can prevent documents that have not been separated by a separating section from being sent out.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving am!fi) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention sets the originals in a stacked state in the original setting section, and includes a sending means for sending out the set originals; In an automatic document feeder that feeds documents one sheet at a time and has a separating section that separates the documents sent out by the sending means, the leading edge of the document is brought into contact with the document when the document is sent out by the sending means. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a guide means that guides the document to the separating section by forming an inclined surface and restricts sending out of the document that is not separated by the separating section.

(Function) The above means eliminates the need for an operator to separate the originals, and even if the originals cannot be separated in the separating section, they can be reliably separated.

(Example) The present invention will be described below with reference to an example shown in the drawings.

As shown in the perspective view showing the overall appearance of FIG. 3, the document reading device fill of this embodiment has a front side (
A document cover 7 is provided which is pivoted at the rear so that the lower right side in Figure 3 can be opened and closed up and down, and an automatic document feeder 3 is mounted on the left side (lower left side in the same figure). An operator panel 9 is provided on the upper surface of the front edge.

The operator panel 9 includes an ADF key that supports the operation of the automatic document feeder 3, a document density key that changes the reading density according to the clarity of the shading of the document to be read, and a document size that sets the document size according to the size of the document. Original size key to specify the original size, Original direction key to specify the orientation of the original when scanning the original, Character mode (8PPI) depending on the content of the original,
Fine mode (16PP1), photo mode (16PPI.

There are several operation keys including the reading mode key for selecting the dither mode), and the settings set by the operation keys and the operating status of each are displayed by blinking LED lamps.
Alternatively, it consists of a display section that displays characters and figures using LEDs.

Next, the overall configuration of the document reading device 1 will be schematically explained using the side view of FIG. 2.

A first platen glass 1 is provided on the top plate of the device housing 10, and is formed by fitting a transparent glass plate into a rectangular opening slightly larger than the size of the document desired to be read.
1, and a second platen glass 13 formed in the same manner as the first platen glass 11 in a strip shape adjacent to the left side of the first platen glass 11 (the upper left side in FIG. 2, the same applies hereinafter).
Configure.

At this time, the first platen glass 11 and the second platen glass 13 are formed to have the same length (in the thickness direction in FIG. 2).

Furthermore, the inside of the device housing 10 is entered from the right end of the first platen glass 11! An optical reading unit 5 is configured to move to the left end of the second platen glass 13 in close proximity to the lower surface of these platen glasses 11 and 12. As shown in FIG. 5, this optical reading unit 5 mainly consists of a light source that irradiates light onto the document surface and a light receiving element that receives light from the document surface. A fluorescent lamp 51 that irradiates uniformly with illuminance is used as a light source, the light receiving element is formed to have the same width as the document width or a little longer, and
Close-contact image sensor module 5 with deep depth of field
3, and is also equipped with an A/D converter 55 that converts this analog signal into a digital signal, and further includes a pulse motor PM driven under the control of the controller 2, which will be described later.
It is configured to be able to freely move forward and backward in the left and right directions (in the upper left and right directions in FIG. 2).

The document cover 7 is large enough to cover the first platen glass 11 described above, and its upper surface side is inclined so that the one side facing the automatic document feeder 3 is lower.
A stacker 73 having a substantially plate-like shape with rising portions formed on three sides except for one side is formed to receive the originals discharged from the automatic original feeder 3 and stack them one after another. In addition, the lower side of the document cover 7 uniformly presses and fixes the document, and is colored white to increase the contrast ratio of the document, for example, when the document is made of perforated paper. It is made by stretching a flat platen sheet 71.

Next, the automatic document feeder 3 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic document feeder 3 is a box with a depth that is larger than the width of the document placed on the upper left side of the loading case 10. A document feed table 31 is provided in a protruding manner as a document setting section on which a document is placed.

The conveyance mechanism of this automatic document feeder 3 is internally housed inside the box, and the documents placed on the document feed table 31 are sequentially moved by a pulse motor PM2 and a clutch mechanism, etc., which are driven under the control of the control unit 2, which will be described later. The document is conveyed, and after reading the document, it is discharged onto the stacker 73 on the top surface of the document cover 7.

The transport mechanism of the automatic document feeder 3 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4.

A feed roller R1 serving as a feed unit is disposed on the lower surface of the document feed table 31, and the roller surface is slightly exposed from the opening of the document feed table 31.
The stacked originals are sequentially fed into the automatic original document feeder 3 from the bottom.

A separation roller R2 that constitutes a separation section, and a take-in roller R3 disposed opposite to this separation roller R2 in contact with the separation roller R2.
Since the documents are taken into the automatic document feeder 3 one by one, the separation roller R3 rotates in the opposite direction to the direction in which the documents are conveyed to separate the documents.

The conveyance roller R5 and the discharge roller R9 are each composed of a pair of rollers disposed facing each other in contact with each other, and convey the document, and also transport the document.
The document is wound around the circumferential surface of the platen roller R7 located in the middle of the platen roller R7.

The platen roller R7 is a rotatably supported cylinder made of resin, and the surface of this cylinder is white like the platen sheet 71 stretched on the back side of the document cover 7, so that, for example, Even if the document is thin and tends to be opaque, it can be read as a document with a high contrast ratio. Furthermore, if necessary, in order to reduce the load on the document during conveyance, the platen roller R7 may be rotated to match the document conveyance speed of the conveyance roller R5 and the discharge roller R9.

Further, the platen roller R7 is disposed with a gap of, for example, about 0.5 mm from the surface of the platen glass 13. That is, this gap prevents dirt from adhering to the surface of the platen glass 13 and damage to the document surface due to the document surface sliding on the surface of the platen glass 13, and also prevents the document surface from being damaged. The distance is set to a value that falls within the depth of field of the optical reading unit 5. That is, the depth of field of the optical reading unit 5 is different from the focal length when reading a stationary original due to the gap of about 0.5 fins formed between the platen roller R7 and the platen glass 13, In order to absorb variations in focal length caused by differences in paper thickness of originals, for example, the thickness of the second platen roller 13 may be made 0.5 times thinner than that of the first platen glass, or the platen roller R7 may be There is no need to increase the adjustment means for adjusting the focal length or the like to change the axis position according to the paper thickness of the original.

Next, the document position detection sensor provided in the automatic document feeder 3 will be explained.

A document presence/absence detection sensor L2 is disposed between the feed roller R1 and the take-in roller R3, and is activated when a document is placed on the document feed tray 31 to detect the presence or absence of a document.

A document trailing edge detection sensor L2 is disposed between the take-in roller R3 and the transport roller R5, and detects the passage of the document as well as the passage of the trailing edge of the document.

A document leading edge detection sensor L3 is disposed between the conveyance roller R5 and the platen roller R7, and detects when the leading edge of the document passes and enters the reading state.

A document discharge detection sensor is provided between the platen roller R7 and the discharge roller R9, and detects the start and end of document discharge.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating the operating state of the document reading device 3 incorporated in the text management system.

In FIG. 4, the control unit 2 includes a micro combiator, and operates two pulse motors PM1. Controls the operation of mechanical parts such as PM2 and clutch mechanism CL, and
It performs various processes such as image processing based on the digital signal input from the optical reading unit 5, and further transmits the data to the host computer via the host interface 21.

Further, at this time, the priority order of instructions from the operator panel 9 and the host computer is determined as appropriate.

By the way, as shown in FIG. M6 and FIG.
5 is provided in a substantially vertical state.

The guide means 25 includes a rotating plate 27 whose upper end is rotatably supported by a support member 26, and a rubber member 28 attached to the surface of the rotating plate 27.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the rotary plate 27 has notches 29°29 at a predetermined interval on its rotary end side, so that when the rotary plate 27 rotates toward the separation rollers R2, R2, It is designed to be nested with l11c7-raR2 and R2.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be briefly explained based on the operating procedure.

Follow the instructions on the operator panel 9 or host computer regarding the document size, use of the automatic document feeder 3, etc.
The operation of the control unit 2 is determined.

For example, when reading a document placed a on the platen glass 11, the pulse motor PMI is continuously driven to move the optical reading unit 5 continuously at a constant speed over the lower surface of the document. It scans one page at a time, and also has an automatic document feeder! ! 3 using the document feed tray 31
When continuously reading originals loaded on the platen, the pulse motor PMI is driven to move the optical reading unit 5 to a predetermined position below the platen glass 13 and fix it there.
Next, by appropriately driving the pulse motor PM2 and the clutch CL, the feed roller R1 starts rotating, and the document G set in the document feeder 31 as shown in FIG. 6(a) is sent out. The tip thereof contacts and presses the rubber plate 28 of the rotating plate 27. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the rotating plate 27 rotates about the support member 26 in the direction of the separation roller R2. At this time, as the original G succumbs to the frictional force of the rubber material 28 of the rotating plate 27 and moves toward the upper side, it becomes unable to keep up with the feeding of the feed roller R1, and the leading edge of the original G is separated from the first original. It has a sloped surface that is easy to take out. Further, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the document G sent by the feed roller R1 is separated one by one by a feed roller R3 that rotates in the feed direction and a separation roller R2 that rotates in the opposite direction with respect to the feed direction. Ru. During this separation, the documents G may not be separated for some reason and may be sent between the separation roller R2 and the paper feed roller R3 in a stacked state. The end is nested with the separation roller R2°R2, and the second and subsequent documents G are brought into contact therewith. As a result, the feeding of the second and subsequent originals G is regulated, and the originals G are separated and only one sheet is sent out. This document G is transported by the transport roller R.
At this time, the optical reading unit 5 is used to sequentially and continuously read the moving original.

As described above, by bringing the document G fed from the document feed table 31 into contact with the guide means 25, the leading end thereof is made into an inclined surface and guided to the separating roller R2.
can be automatically sent to the separation roller R2 in a sorted state. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to sort the original document G, which saves time and effort, and also eliminates the possibility of failure to take in documents due to forgetting to sort them as in the conventional case.

Furthermore, when the originals cannot be separated by the separating section, the gate means 25 can restrict the sending out of the second and subsequent originals, and the original G can be reliably separated and sent out.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, by bringing the document sent out from the document setting section into contact with the guide means, the leading end of the document is made into an inclined surface and guided to the separating section, so that the document is automatically sorted. It can be sent to the separation section in a separated state. Therefore, there is no need for the worker to take the trouble to handle the original, which saves time and effort, and also ensures the prevention of failure to take in the original.

In addition, when the document cannot be separated by the separating section, the sending out of the second and subsequent documents can be regulated, and it is possible to reliably prevent the taking of two documents.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a document setting section, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a document reading device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing its appearance. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the conveyance mechanism of the automatic document feeder, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the document reading operation, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the guide means during document feeding. . G... Original, R1... Feeding roller (feeding means),
R2... Separation roller (separation section), 25... Guide means, 31... Document feed table (document setting section).

Claims (1)

[Claims] A document that sets originals in a stacked state in a document setting section, has a sending unit that sends out the set originals, and a separating unit that separates the originals sent out by the sending unit, and feeds the originals one sheet at a time. In the automatic paper feeder, when the document is sent out by the sending means, the leading end of the document comes into contact with the guide to form an inclined surface and guides the document to the separation section, and also controls the sending out of the document that is not separated by the separation section. An automatic document feeder characterized by comprising means.